MITHI: Several hundred people from various parts of Tharparkar region gathered at Islamkot town and staged a demonstration on Thursday for five hours to register their protest against construction of what they called ‘the deadly dam’ at the village of Gorano.

The demo was held on the call of the All-Parties Alliance to urge Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company and Sindh government to change the site of the water reservoir being built at the Gorano area.

Arbab Latifullah, a leader of the Arbab group, addressing the large number of charged people noted that if the site of the water reservoir being built on 1,500 acres of land was not changed, it would cause unprecedented devastation in the area.

He maintained that fears of the protesters were based on some reports and studies, which said that level of the total dissolved solids (TDS) of this underground water would be around 5,000 ppm (parts per million), much higher than the WHO standard that sets the maximum contaminant level for TDS at 1,000 ppm.

He said the TDS was directly related to the purity of water and quality of water purification systems, and was used to determine safety of water for consumption by humans, animals or for farming.

He noted that the continuous protests by the local people and their ‘historic demonstration’ were ample proofs of the anger, indignation and fears of Tharis. He made it clear that Tharis, who were otherwise peaceful, would go to any extreme to save their ancestral abodes from devastation.

Warning the mining firm to immediately stop the construction work, he lambasted PPP leaders for not standing with the protesters at this critical juncture.

He claimed the Arbabs of Thar had always served people with dedication.

Advocate Wasand Thari, central general secretary of the Awami Tehreek, in his speech lashed out at the mining firm and the Sindh government for their alleged stubborn and callous attitude towards the local people. He warned them to ‘mend’ their ways.

“Tharis are neither against the China-Pakistan Economic Corri­dor (CPEC) nor against the development of their region, but we will never allow the company to spread destruction,” he added.

Subhan Samejo of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) observed that it was a great injustice with Tharis that they were being forcibly displaced from their centuries-old homes without proper compensation.

He demanded of the firm to halt the ongoing construction work on the site.

Advocate Shah Nawaz Hingorjo of the Qaumi Awami Tehreek said the dam would never be allowed to be built. He observed that water from coal mines should be diverted to some other feasible locations as no Thari would allow the company to destroy their lands, historical sites, villages, grazing lands, graveyards etc.

Faqir Irshad Kumbhar of the Sindh National Front said the dam would only cause devastation. “In the reservoir area, there are many species listed under the IUCN Red List of 2010. Any effort to damage those species will be a violation of many international biodiversity laws,” he added.

Mr Kumbhar alleged that the firm officials were trying to lure the ‘gullible’ people, but were not ready to debate with the activists from Thar and other parts of the country. “They are trying to buy or bully us,” he claimed.

Dileep Doshi Meghwar of the Thar Sujag Sath came down hard on the mining company for its ‘anti-Thar’ projects. He said water reservoirs of such nature would only cause ‘unprecedented devastation’ in the vast fertile area of Thar.

The participants vowed to continue their peaceful protest unless their demands are met.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2017